Staying Afloat
by TheBlackSwallow
Summary: A dance is coming up and the girls are the ones inviting. What happens when Sumire gets into Mikan's head and Mikan can't help but be worried. Can Mikan stay afloat and not drown in her worries?
1. Chapter 1

**Staying Afloat**

**Author's Note: Hello everyone. It's been a long time. I'm sorry if it isn't good though. Please comment for suggestions though. Thank you and hope you enjoy! Oh by the way this one is somewhat related to my other ones such as Wild and Unbridled Passion and Overprotective and Jealous Mikan and a little reference to Unsettled Loathing.**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Gakuen Alice**

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She finally received it, the beautiful crisp invitation that was designed by the best student artisans of the school. Mikan couldn't help but adore how the invitation glowed with the tiny stars that would arrange themselves into different constellations. She had half the mind to keep it instead of just handing it to her boyfriend.

"No Mikan…you can't keep it." Hotaru said as she raised her baka gun to show that she was intent on whacking her to her senses. "If you didn't notice Mikan, that is an invitation that the girls give to their partner for the '_Stars Fall In Line' _dance this Saturday."

"Aww come on Hotaru it's so pretty. No guy would actually appreciate the beauty of this invitation." Mikan explained as she brandished the invitation for Hotaru to see.

"Would you look at those stars!" said one of the guy classmates of Mikan who was walking by. "That invitation is just plain beautiful I'm hoping that my girlfriend will give it to me soon!" the boy said as he talked to one of his guy friends who nodded in agreement.

"You were saying?" Hotaru said as she raised her eyebrows and Mikan continued to look in shock at the boys who passed by.

Mikan then pouted and crossed her arms over her chest. "Fine but I'm not happy. I still don't understand why the girls have to be the ones asking the boys to the dance in the first place." Mikan said as she rolled her eyes and put the invitation in her school bag.

"Sure you can say that because you actually have a boyfriend. Some girls on the other hand are actually thrilled that we can ask and not wait to be asked." Sumire said as she popped up and explained to Mikan. She then rolled her eyes at how obvious it is.

"Once again Mikan is wrong," Hotaru simply said as she peered at her invention. "No surprise there."

"Moving on from the insults." Mikan said as she glared at the two. "Since Hotaru insisted I'm going to give Natsume the invitation."

Sumire perked up at her words and turned to face her. "OH MY GOSH!" she said in excitement which made Mikan jump up in surprise. "Tell me everything! What are your plans? How are you going to tell him?"

Mikan simply raised an eyebrow at her in confusion. "Simple…I'm giving him the invitation." She said as if it was the most obvious thing ever.

Sumire deflated and her face turned into a face of shock and disgust. "You're not doing anything special. You're just giving him the invitation? How did you ask him?" Sumire asked as she continued looking at Mikan with disbelief.

"How? I didn't ask him." Mikan said slowly in reply as Sumire's expression made her feel anxious. "I thought I didn't need to."

"Woah Woah Woah…Mikan…" Sumire said in disbelief as she shook her head. "Don't you know anything about relationships? You should have at least done some effort. I mean come on…you're dating Natsume Hyuuga. His fans can bring down machines and bake devious pastries. Would it kill you to do something just even a little special for him?"

"Well…um…" Mikan was thinking hard as it hit her. Hotaru on the other hand wouldn't stand for this.

"Mikan how idiotic can you get?" Hotaru explained as she rolled her eyes at Mikan. "This is Sumire we are talking about. Remember the last time you listened to her about love advice." Hotaru said as she narrowed her eyes at Sumire and Sumire backed up in fear. Hotaru then turned to Mikan "You better watch it Mikan. If in the end you and Natsume break up once again I'll make sure to fine you for it." With that Hotaru left not wanting to hear another word.

Mikan looked at Hotaru and bit her lip. She then shook her head in order to concentrate. After doing this she turned to glare at Sumire. "She's right! I shouldn't bother with what you say. I'm just going to ignore it and pretend that you never made that comment."

Sumire gaped at Mikan in offense and then glared at her. "I'm offended. The next time you need help you better be on your knees." with that being said Sumire stormed off.

"It's not like I needed it! It's not going to bother me at all!" Mikan screamed back as she walked farther from her.

* * *

Sadly it did bother Mikan. Mikan was twiddling her thumbs as she thought about what Sumire said. In fact she was so worried that anyone could see it all over her face. Many times she would see Hotaru, Ruka and even Natsume peering at her. She had to get out because they would all bombard her soon. Who could blame them though? The brunette is known after all to do pretty idiotic antics especially when she gets fired up with stupid ideas.

As soon as the bell rang Mikan ran straight out of the door to get some fresh air and escape the wrath of her friends. Not even bothering to stop or look back she simply ran straight to the sakura tree. After taking huge breaths she faced the tree and continued bumping her head on the tree in frustration. "It's too late. I let it get to me." Mikan said to herself as she let what Sumire said to her set in.

She remembered clearly how the fans adored Natsume however she as a girlfriend never bothered to do something special for him. She bit her lip as she tried to think of the numerous ways she could do to make it more spectacular.

"I know it's useless but I'm still hoping you aren't doing anything stupid." said a voice that Mikan knew all too well. Mikan jumped up in shock and unwillingly turned to face her red-eyed glaring boyfriend.

"You know. You should stop popping out of thin air. It really gets on one's nerves. I just might get a heart attack." Mikan said as she clutched her chest and let out a huge breath.

"You get a heart attack?" Natsume said as he narrowed his eyes at her. "I have girlfriend who has disaster following at her footsteps." Mikan was about to object when Natsume interrupted her. "Do I honestly need to narrate you everything before you surrender by keeping quiet."

"Psssh…" was all Mikan would say and she turned her head away from his direction. Natsume surprisingly spoke up first in their usual game of cold shoulder. "So…are you going to tell me or do I have to wait for things to plan out?" Natsume said as he crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at his girlfriend.

Mikan jerked up at his words and was at a loss for words. Mikan rather kept quiet about it. It was her problem not his anyway. Mikan then turned to Natsume and put on a weak smile. "Don't worry Natsume. I'm perfectly fine here!" she said as she faked a laugh and playfully slapped him.

Natsume rolled his eyes and sighed in frustration. "Are you sure there's nothing you want to talk about?" he said as he stared at her straight in the eye.

Mikan bit her lip in nervousness and slowly shook her head as a reply. Natsume then ran his hand through his hair and let his arm support him on the Sakura tree as he sweat-dropped. "Ok…Mikan. One, I know you are keeping something from me. Usually I would ignore it because I shouldn't really care but knowing you it would lead to disastrous results. Two, you are just a terrible liar. As your boyfriend I would know when you are lying. Just accept that fact."

Natsume then took hold of Mikan's hand and stared at her straight in the eye. "Now…Mikan are you going to tell me now?" he said slowly as he continued looking at Mikan in the eye. Mikan actually felt her resolve dying when someone came to save her.

"Mikan!" Anna called out and in the process it broke the intense moment between the couple. Both of them turned to see both Anna and Nonoko waving at them. "Hey Mikan. Hope you didn't forget our _plans_." Nonoko said as she smiled a big grin and stressed out the word plans.

Mikan said in a whisper 'plans' as she shook her head because she couldn't remember making any plans with her. Nonoko sighed as she knew Mikan was too slow so she coughed to get Mikan's attention and gave her a look. Mikan raised her eyebrow in confusion and it was only a few moments later when she got it.

Mikan then turned to Natsume and tried to put on a smile that she hoped looked apologetic. "Sorry Natsume but I forgot that I had to…um…do something…" Mikan started but Natsume cut her off by sending out an evil aura. The aura quickly spread sending chills to the girls who witnessed it. He glared at Mikan and turned to glare at Anna and Nonoko. The two took a step back in fear.

"Honestly Mikan. I'm not stupid. I even got it before you did." Natsume said as he continued glaring at her. "Since you are actually steeping this low then I might as well leave you to do it. Just remember that I tried to do something and stop you from doing something stupid." Natsume said as he let go of Mikan's hand and turned the other way. He placed his hands in his pockets and started walking.

It took a while before Mikan could recover and feel the feeling in her legs. When she turned to Anna and Nonoko all she could do was widen her eyes in fear.

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"So…how did you guys know that I needed help?" Mikan asked plainly as she was walking beside Anna and Nonoko. She tagged along after Anna and Nonoko asked her to join them for real.

Anna and Nonoko glanced at each other with worry and it wasn't overlooked by Mikan. Mikan took a deep breath. "Why do I feel like that I'm going to regret the answer?"

Anna and Nonoko then stopped and Mikan just mimicked. Anna then spoke up. "Well you see. Someone told us that you needed help. She sorta knew that you were going to have this problem."

Mikan looked at the two in question when she realized the situation. After all Anna and Nonoko were also parts of _that _event. Mikan threw back her head as she groaned. "Please tell me it's not Sumire."

Mikan then straightened up as she heard clapping coming out from the nearby area of trees. There Mikan saw the cat woman leaning on one of the trees. She was smiling an amused smile as she continued clapping.

"I must say Mikan. You actually got smarter. Usually it would have taken you much longer to figure it out." Sumire said plainly as she started walking towards Mikan. "Now down to business, we should start planning how you should ask Natsume." Sumire said as she smiled amusingly and raised her eyebrow at Mikan.

Mikan simply looked at Sumire plainly then quickly turned around and said. "I'm out! See you." and started walking away without another word. This shocked not only Sumire but also Anna and Nonoko.

"HEY!" Sumire shouted as she raised her fist at her. "DON'T JUST WALK AWAY." Sumire said as she gritted her teeth. Mikan then turned to look at her with uncaring eyes and continued walking away.

"Hmmm…I think Natsume became quite an influence on her. Don't you think?" Anna said as she observed Mikan's actions.

Sumire wasn't happy though. It made her feel like tearing Mikan's heart out. Here Sumire was willing to offer her expertise and Mikan just simply shrugs it off and walks away from her. Sumire then called out in anger. "FINE! Be that way! Just remember! You needed Anna and Nonoko to save your freaking butt when Natsume was questioning you. I bet Natsume was trying to find out what was wrong with you. No doubt that you were actually troubled about what I said!" Sumire concluded as she glared at Mikan's back that was walking away. However when Sumire finished her speech of words Mikan stopped.

Sumire then straightened up and crossed her arms as she was confident in her deduction. "I was right wasn't I? You're bothered by this and we both know that Natsume isn't an easy boyfriend to keep when there are tons of people who want him for themselves. You secretly want to prove that you are his girlfriend and no one else can top that."

After hearing this Mikan's mind was in turmoil. She was feeling that indeed. She felt exactly as Sumire said she felt. She loved Natsume so much and just thinking about those other girls ogling at him made her furious. She wanted to do something about it but she knew that if she went with Sumire there could be a ton of things that could go wrong. Mikan shudders at what happened the last time she took Sumire's advice. Mikan had half the mind though to turn right there and then and start planning with her.

Sumire on the other hand just narrowed her eyes at Mikan's back that was still facing her. Mikan had stopped for quite some time and Sumire knew that what she said must have been a thing that needs to be taken in slowly. The cat-dog girl then took a breath and spoke up. "I'll let you think about it. Once you realize completely that I'm right come find me. I hope you hurry though. The dance is soon and Natsume can only wait for so long." With that Sumire turned on her heels and walked the opposite direction.

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Mikan needed to talk to Natsume. He was probably still angry from earlier and she needed to explain herself. He would probably get even more angry at her once she tells him that Sumire was the one who made her act that way. Mikan tenderly touched her hair as if saying goodbye to it. Natsume hadn't burned her hair for a long time but who knows. After all, old habits die hard.

Mikan couldn't find Natsume though. He wasn't in his room, the library, the cafeteria and heck, not even the sakura tree. Mikan was getting tired already. She has been walking and looking for Natsume for who knows how long and she still is. Mikan was passing through the courtyard when she heard his voice.

Mikan gasped in happiness as she silently rejoiced that she found him. She looked around to see him across some trees and bushes. She was about to walk towards him when she realized that Natsume wasn't alone. Mikan peeked trough the gaps between the trees and saw that he was with another girl. The girl was actually beautiful and stunning.

Mikan had to shake her head in order to remove those thoughts that were bothering her. She already had that episode where she immediately jumped the gun when she saw Natsume with another girl. That was another bump on the road for their relationship. She didn't want to repeat it again.

Mikan in her jealous state would have strangled that blonde green eyed girl without hearing a thing. She wised up though. Mikan decided to hear and see everything completely before she would strangle her so the nullifier simply stayed there and observed what was happening.

"Ok…I swear if you continue to hassle me I will burn your hair." Natsume said as she breathed out in frustration. He had his hands in his pockets and looking at the girl as if he just wished she would disappear. Mikan punched the air in happiness knowing that Natsume had no feelings for the gorgeous blonde. Now she can just direct all her anger on the blonde.

"Natsume…" the girl said, simply with her confident smile and flipped her hair. "I will go away once you hear me out. I just need a few moments of your time then I'm gone.

Once Natsume heard this he rolled his eyes and ruffled his hair. "So if I hear what you have to say will you just leave me?" he said as he rubbed his forehead with his thumb due to his migraine.

The girl just smiled a dazzling white smile and nodded. She then turned to get out something from her pocket. Natsume watched her and when he realized what it was Natsume groaned. "Another one? You're going to invite me to the dance?" Natsume said tiredly. Natsume continued as he sighed. "Don't bother. You aren't the first one and each one of them I said 'no' to. Save your tears and just find someone else."

Mikan clutched onto a nearby tree when she heard Natsume say that other girls invited him. Mikan had the urge to hunt down each and every one of them. Mikan immediately thought though "Maybe Anna was right. Natsume has influenced me too much." as she thought about what she wanted to do. However before she could ponder about how much she changed the unknown blonde girl spoke up once more.

"Oh I know!" the blonde girl said plainly. "I just want you to know how much I like you. I don't expect you to say yes but I just hope that you'll remember me." the girl said confidently. Natsume replied a "tch" as he rolled his eyes.

Natsume's eyes widened though, as the girl was now giving out a light that slowly brightened over time. Then as if he teleported right into space he was surrounded by stars. Not too far off he could see Jupiter at the background. The girl then smiled and raised her hand and the stars surrounding him slowly formed a single word. 'DANCE?'. Just like that the illusion ended and the stars faded away and the courtyard came back.

"My power is illusion you see? I've been practicing. I'm not that great but I really wanted to show it to you." The girl said as she blushed. Natsume then sighed and shook his head.

"Although I must admit that was impressive you know the answer. I can't go with you." Natsume said simply

"Oh…I told you. I know." The blonde girl said. Just hope you remember me by." She said with a peaceful smile. Natsume simply looked at the stunning blonde and turned on his heel and left without another word. After a few moments later the blonde girl turned to walk in the opposite direction.

Mikan however was pulled into the illusion and saw exactly what happened. It was indeed beautiful and she can't shake that feeling away. That was the last straw.

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Sumire walked towards the door of her room as she heard the rapid knocking on it. Sumire opened the door and leaned on the doorway as she crossed her arms and looked at her visitor. "So? Have you decided?" Sumire said as she boringly looked at the brunette standing in front of her.

"I'm in…" she said with determination in her eyes and Sumire let her in.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Author's Note: I had to admit that I haven't written in forever. I could have abandoned it but I couldn't. It haunted me. Sorry that it took this long. Please Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Gakuen Alice**

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Mikan was tired, way too tired to her liking. She realized this as she was slowly edging towards the gym alone. She had skipped breakfast and almost forgot that she had P.E. today. She cursed the stupid person who put P.E. so early in the morning. How can one do a sport well if they don't have the energy to do it? She's feeling so drowsy that she swears that she would collapse soon. That's what you get when you had only an average of 3 hours of sleep each night for the past two nights. Well it comes with the territory when you have to plan for something short notice. The dance is this Saturday and Mikan had only decided to team up with Sumire last Sunday. So that night and last night was dedicated for planning the super awesome invitation for Natsume that needs to be given as soon as possible. Mikan had decided to execute her plan by tomorrow, Wednesday night.

Mikan actually felt quite confident about the plan. It didn't seem stupid at all. Then again she has done an amount of stupid stuff thinking that they weren't stupid. Mikan just brushed off her doubts and decided to focus on what she had planned. This would finally be the plan that would redeem her after all her previous reckless actions.

It helped that she didn't go through this all alone. She actually had a special and awesome team behind her in order to make this plan come to reality. Mikan and Sumire had already enlisted the help of Anna, Nonoko and even Yuu. All of them have been sworn to secrecy and they willingly lent their talents. Mikan felt sorry for them though. If both Natsume and Hotaru find out that they are part of this, those two would probably torture the truth out of them. Nevertheless Mikan admired both their loyalty and bravery.

Mikan though practically like a zombie, walking towards the gym glanced at a flower bed beside the trail. Her sleepiness instantly vanished as it reminded her of her spectacular invitation. Mikan was overcome with excitement as she played out what should happen tomorrow in her mind. It will happen during the night time when the stars are already out. She and Sumire had already seen the forecast and it said that the sky will be clear tomorrow night. It's plain perfect with her plans. Mikan had already borrowed a fake tower from the drama club which Narumi sensei was all too pleased to lend because he thought that her plan was so adorable. Now all Mikan needed to do is simply wait in the tower till her so-called prince comes along. Natsume is that prince, incase you didn't already know. Though it would be hard to get Natsume to come running anywhere he didn't want to go, Sumire had already knew how to lure him. The planners had all agreed upon the line, "Natsume, Mikan is strangling one of your fans! Hurry!"

Mikan would just wait for him to come and when he arrives looking around for her and the near-to-death fan she will call out from the tower, "I've been waiting for you." which will let him look up to where she is. She's going to look amazing. She had already practiced what her make-up will look like and even decided on how her hair would look like. It looks wonderful with the outfit she prepared. She had borrowed Misaki's dress and with the help of Anna and Nonoko, adjusted it to fit her perfectly. She even attached big angel wings to the back so it would seem like she was an angel messenger.

With the idea of angel messenger in mind, she would "float" with help of some wires that Sumire, Anna and Yuu will be pulling. She'll then be lifted straight into the air and slowly drift towards Natsume. Mikan can already imagine his face that will be in complete awe. Even though, she hasn't practice this part yet, she's sure she'll be fine. Then again, Mikan suddenly felt like this could end up crashing and burning before her eyes. 'Note to self' thought Mikan 'must practice the flying angel routine later.' Now Mikan can imagine clearly how horrible it will be as she accidentally falls flat on the floor. She's sure that Natsume wouldn't want to go to a dance with a pancake.

Anyway after all the practice she'll have she would look like an angel, floating in the air whose target is non-other the lucky fire caster. She will then land gracefully in front of him, she'll reach for his hand and say, "Will you go to the dance with me?" then he'll say "yes".

'He better say yes or else I'll punch his lights out' Mikan thought as she clutched her fist. 'Back to the plan' she said as she continued with her play by play.

So yeah he'll say yes then suddenly the stars above them will drastically all become shooting stars. It will look like a rain shower of stars which will be done by the magnificent help of a Mr. Yuu Tobita. Then Nonoko will expose her newest creation, color changing flowers. These flowers were just ordinary white flowers till amazingly Nonoko found a way to manipulate their color pigments. The flowers now glow with amazingly bright colors that change constantly like some kind of mood light. It truly is a spectacular thing to see, when they are gathered together in bunches and boy did Nonoko make tons of them. They have already started planting them on site and would hopefully finish by later so they can see how it looks like at the night. Sadly without Hotaru's inventions she can't do some kind of cool popping out effects. She can't have her secret trap floor where the flowers will rise. Mikan however decided to become creative.

Yuu would have made an illusion that there were no flowers around then after the queue he would lift his powers off of the flowers and before you know it she and Natsume will be surrounded by beds of color changing flowers that supposedly appeared out of nowhere. Then that will set the romantic mood and before you know it the two of them would slowly inch their faces closer and…

Mikan squealed as she stopped in the middle of her tracks. She just can't wait for Natsume to see what they had successfully planned. It will be so beautiful and memorable that any other invitation would pale in comparison. Finally, Mikan can redeem herself and Natsume will actually see that she can do something right. Mikan was so sure that his face will be so full amazement that she had already instructed Nonoko to take a photo of it so that she may treasure it forever. Not to mention she'll rub it in his face that she, Mikan Sakura had actually done something spectacular!

Mikan jumped for joy and giggled to herself as she stood 10 meters away from the gym. Despite her excitement she was overcome by a huge yawn accompanied by her stretching of arms. Mikan really hoped that the invitation would be amazing because she didn't lose that amount of precious sleep for nothing. It was hard to come up with ideas in the first and even harder to put them into action. The only thing driving her to stay awake and keep going aside from Sumire's screams was the idea of all those other girls who had invited Natsume. She has indeed grown proud and will not accept the fact that as a girlfriend her invitation was not good enough or in a sense second-rate. Sure she may have not noticed that fact unless Sumire practically chanted it to her but at least Sumire put her on the right path.

Mikan can only hope that it was worth it because she's barely keeping her eyes open as she goes to class. Poor Mikan got zapped twice yesterday by Mr. Jinno during math. Mikan doesn't even know how to survive today since it's been the second night with barely any sleep. To stay awake for even this one period alone would zap whatever energy she has left not to mention that it's Physical Education that she's heading towards to.

It also doesn't' help if you have best friends and a boyfriend hunting you down because they know that you're up to something. Mikan didn't know if she would actually make it this time if Natsume, Hotaru and Ruka teamed up to get her. They did it yesterday and boy was that some chase. The three knew that Mikan was doing something and apparently they weren't going to quit until they get it out of her and stop it from being executed. Sure she may have messed up before but give a girl a chance no matter how many times those chances have already been given. Mikan can just recall just hard yesterday was.

Hotaru being Mikan's best friend knew exactly where to hit her. Hotaru had set traps in front of her door, on her class seat, on the dinning table and even the bathroom. If it weren't for Sumire who had sniffed them out and Anna & Nonoko who over heard the three planning, Mikan would have already been spilling the beans at Hotaru's torture. Mikan decided to get smart and went through other places she was unfamiliar with, like the forest but that's when Ruka's power came to play. Apparently the three had already foreseen her going to the forest and so Ruka had stationed his _wonderful _animal friends there. Mikan had found it weird how the animals that she's never even seen before suddenly followed her everywhere. Not to mention the birds kept on chirping some weird sounding tune no matter where she went. Soon enough Ruka came with Hotaru carrying her lovely net-o-cannon. Mikan decided to avoid the forest too. Finally at the end of the day Mikan tried to be smart and avoid the easy trails all together. No usual everyday route or the hardly taken route through the forest. Mikan went climbing up the sides of buildings and even the roof. Silly Mikan however had forgotten about who was the master at climbing and lounging around school structures. Apparently the spectacular trio expected that too so when Mikan found herself down on the ground after climbing down the classroom window she turned around to see her boyfriend narrowing his eyes at her.

Mikan can remember the chills she got as he eyed her and followed her every move as if daring her to try to get away from him. Sometimes Natsume's pointed looks can be even scarier than Hotaru's traps and nets because even if he wasn't there his looks still send a scary chill through you. Luckily before Natsume started interrogating her once again, Koko had passed at that moment and quickly read from Mikan's mind the help signal she was sending. He then proceeded to remove his food from the paper bag he was carrying and blew amounts of air into the bag and quickly popped it. 'POP!' Mikan rejoiced as Natsume glanced at where the sound came from and decided to run but alas she should have never underestimated her boyfriend. Even as Natsume was looking at Koko with a glare, Natsume had grabbed Mikan's arm and pulled her back to where she was.

"Mikan…" he said as he glared at her and she admittingly shook with fear as he did. "I'm giving you a matter of 30 seconds to explain what's going on." Mikan panicked and did the only thing she could do. She kicked him in the shin and ran for her life. Looking back Mikan probably thought that her reaction was a little too much but she can't really think of any other solution aside from telling the truth. Boy will Natsume be cross with her once they meet again. Mikan even went straight to Sumire's room knowing that Natsume would go to hers with a vengeance. In fact, last night, Mikan had to keep on switching rooms while planning because she knew that Natsume, Hotaru and Ruka would probably find her in Sumire's sooner or later. She had to alternate between Sumire's, Anna's, Nonoko's and Yuu's. Luckily she did because sure enough Natsume, Hotaru and Ruka burst into Sumire's, Anna's and Nonoko's last night. Good thing the three decided not to interrogate her fellow comrades because surely if those terrible three put their minds to it no secret would be safe.

* * *

Mikan was snapped out of her recall by another fit of yawns. "Man I'm going to fail P.E. at this rate." Mikan said aloud. "I should have skipped class today. I can barely focus on anything." As if supporting that statement, Mikan had not noticed the lone step upwards to enter the gym. As expected, Mikan tripped upon it and ended up flat on the floor. "Ouch…" she whimpered. Mikan didn't even bother to try to get up as she slowly felt her eyes closing in an attempt to try to get enough sleep as she can. That chance however was ruined as she was suddenly pulled up to her feet and she felt like she was spinning as if someone was turning her around. Mikan then opened her disoriented eyes to see some blurred figure in front of her. Mikan couldn't tell who the person was but figured out that the person was the one who helped her up. Only after a few seconds of squinting did Mikan clearly make out the color of the person's eyes—red. Mikan gasped as the blur turned clear and in front of her was her boyfriend who was far from pleased. In fact, he looked really pissed.

"You…kicked me…" he said slowly and sternly as he let his burning glare stay upon Mikan. Mikan was considering the idea that she might have really fallen asleep and was experiencing this nightmare. Surely a nightmare would be better than this happening in reality.

Mikan laughed nervously as she avoided Natsume's glare. "Well…um…it was by accident?" she nervously said which resulted in her saying it in an asking tone.

"Oh wow…an accident…why was there some kind of bug there Mikan?" Natsume scoffed. "Is that the best you've got?" he challenged as he pulled Mikan's face so that she can look at him straight in the face.

"So tell me…" Natsume said slowly with animosity dripping with every word he said. "What in the world possessed your mind that you would have the nerve of kicking your boyfriend never mind the fact that this boyfriend is capable subduing battalions of men, thrice his girlfriend's size?"

Mikan gulped. This couldn't be good. Natsume was treating her as if she was a target that he's been given to prey on for a mission. Indeed this is truly terrifying because Natsume was the best of all of them. He's _never _failed a mission and Mikan is starting to get the impression that he's not planning to fail his current objective either and his objective was for her to reveal her plans.

Mikan decided to be brave and balled up her hands so hard that she felt her nails nearly breaking through the barrier of skin. She then meekly looked up to Natsume and did a small shake of her head. Sure it was small, but if any normal person were in Mikan's place they would have already been on their knees spilling everything and begging for their lives. Mikan then said softly without looking at Natsume, "I can't tell you…and…I won't." Mikan then felt Natsume's hands clutch around her arms. "You won't huh?" Natsume said dangerously into her ear as she refused to see his face. Suddenly Mikan felt her feet lift off the ground to see that Natsume had raised her up a few inches of the ground.

"NATSUME! WHAT ARE YOUuu…AHHHH!" Mikan screamed as Natsume suddenly dropped her and she fell flat on her butt. "OUCH!" Mikan said as she rubbed the parts that were sore from the fall. With her eyes tearing up she looked up at Natsume, "What was that for?" Mikan said as she looked up at her boyfriend who was glancing down at her.

Natsume then rolled his eyes and crouched down so his face was at level with his girlfriend's. "Firstly, think of it as a warning so that you stop whatever stupid thing you're planning. Knowing you it's not going to turn out well and trust me I've sat back too many times to see what the worst could happen. Secondly, that's what you get for kicking me in the shin. Consider that debt repaid." Natsume then stood up straight from his crouch and offered Mikan a hand. She then took it and slowly stood back up.

Mikan however didn't want to thank Natsume because of what he said. Sure she made a mistake but doesn't he realize how much work she's been doing. Doesn't he realize that she's only had three hours of sleep last night just so she can make her plan perfect? Does he not appreciate any of it! She's practically tearing her hair out for this plan to be perfect and he has audacity to think it will just blow up on her face. Mikan then glared at Natsume in which he was surprised to receive.

"You Jerk!" she screamed as her eyes teared up. "You don't understand how much I've been working so hard for this and here you are thinking that it's going to be just a disaster that's sure to come. You don't trust me? You don't believe that I can do it? Well! I'll have you know that whatever I'm doing now, you don't even deserve it!" she screamed and stormed in the gym, leaving Natsume behind.

* * *

"Class! That's enough of your back strokes. Seems like most of you got it already but there are some select few that needs a little bit of practice." The coach then glanced at Mikan who looked away sheepishly. She didn't do quite well as she was both exhausted from her lack of sleep and distracted from her fight with Natsume. Mikan then sneaked a glance at Natsume who was currently staring into space. If it weren't for the other's superpowers, Natsume would have been the best of the class when it came to athletics. He was fast, strong and super accurate with everything he does. When he does strokes, boy does he do them perfectly and it seems like he doesn't even exert any effort when doing them. Sadly Mikan wasn't the only one who noticed it as she saw other girls gawking at him. She resisted the urge to strangle them and even if she would allow herself to try to wrangle their necks she just didn't have enough energy to do it.

"So since we've got off quite early, I'll let you guys use this time to have some good pool fun." The coach said with a smile on her face. "So enjoy!" The whole class thus cheered with excitement and started breaking off to their groups to play whatever they wanted to. Mikan saw however that both Natsume and Ruka got out of the pool and went towards the bench holding their towels. Seems like, they weren't interested in playing games. They were then joined by Hotaru who was among the people who wasn't up for the so-called childish pool games. Hotaru hasn't spoken to her yet but from the look in her eyes from when they made eye-contact told Mikan that it would be very soon.

"Hey Mikan! Are you up for some pool volleyball?" Anna said and looked up to see that Nonoko and Sumire were waving for her to come over. Mikan pulled a smile on her face and waded towards them. "Hey Mikan!" Nonoko said "You ready for a game. You ok with playing with Anna?"

"Sure! We'll kick your butts." Mikan said as she tried to energize herself despite her want to collapse here and then due to exhaustion. "Oh yeah? I'd like to see that! Come on!" Sumire snorted as all of them waded towards the other side of the pool, near the edge. Before Mikan knew it the game started and was it difficult. Turns out, Sumire was pretty good at volleyball and Mikan had never tried playing volleyball in the water. Sure, it wasn't that deep but Mikan needed to keep on kicking so she wouldn't end up submerged in water.

It's quite difficult to do so when you're tired and your mind can't help but drift towards your boyfriend who you just shouted senselessly at. Mikan then glanced at the three who were talking on the bench. Apparently the three decided to move to a nearer bench, no doubt trying to see if the four of them would slip up about what was going to happen. Mikan then looked at Natsume who was apparently listening to what Ruka was saying but suddenly his eyes moved over to her and their eyes were locked unto each other's. Mikan then broke the eye contact and tried to focus on the game. It didn't really work because she couldn't help but review the fight she just had with Natsume.

Mikan realized that she overreacted about it and that Natsume was just looking out for her best interests. She shouldn't have shouted at him like that because truthfully she knew that Natsume didn't think lowly of her. After all, it was he who never gave up on her when she needed help in tests or improved her alice. He continued working on with her even though he said that it was annoying. Deep down though, Mikan knew that Natsume always thought Mikan could do it and he was always there to push her to do the best. Natsume wasn't trying to put her down but he was just being the protective boyfriend that he is. He also does have good reason to be protective because of her unflattering past of silly ideas that turned into terrible outcomes.

Mikan felt embarrassed as she thought about what she said. She didn't mean it. She just let the pride get to her head and now it's too embarrassing to ask for forgiveness. Mikan took a deep breath and realized that she had to do it sooner or later. Finally, she decided that she would do it right after class. 'Now how to do it without revealing my intentions for tomorrow night?' Mikan wondered but decided to just worry about that later. Her first task is to reconcile with Natsume and she will before it gets out of hand. 'I just hope he forgives me.' she thought anxiously

"MIKAN WATCH OUT!" Mikan looked up too late to see the ball hurtling at her. It hit her square on her face. Now sure that ball hurt but aside from the possible broken nose Mikan would have been fine, disoriented but nothing worse from that. What wasn't factored was the ledge of the swimming pool behind her that the back of her head slammed on due to the force of the ball. Hit from both sides, Mikan found herself submerged with a familiar reddish tinge spreading throughout the water. She had no energy whatsoever to kick and with her breath knocked out from when she was hit by the ball she had no air to hold on to. Mikan felt herself drifting deeper into the water. Her lungs were burning as she felt small amounts of water seep in. Vision was slowly disappearing and Mikan felt everything slowly turn black. Everyone's faces flashed before her eyes before she blacked out but the last one was the one who she would never be able to reconcile with.

'_Natsume…'_


End file.
